March Idea - country blues

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
How about a session on some country blues - blues in country music. I've always heard that country is just using the major blues scale, but is there more to it? With so much country leaning towards the pop and rock sounds these days, it seems like some of it even branches out into some modal action as well. How do we take what we learned in BGU and turn it into chicken fried steak?
 

Griff

Vice Assistant General Manager
Staff member
I like the suggestion, but maybe we can narrow it down a little...

There is such a huge variety of styles in country music right now that I'd like to look at something specific, do you have any favorites?

You have guys like Brent Mason and Brad Paisley doing these wicked fast licks with a lot of open string, somewhat random chromatic notes in there, while you have guys like Dann Huff and Keith Urban doing solid classic rock licks... they couldn't be more different to me. So it would be fun to go down the appropriate rabbit hole :)
 

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
You have guys like Brent Mason and Brad Paisley doing these wicked fast licks with a lot of open string, somewhat random chromatic notes in there,
If I were to pick a direction at the moment, it would be this one. Truth is, I almost bought a Play like Paisley kind of course last week and opted not to get it. I've always liked the way he often throws those weird notes into the major sound. He always keeps that major feel but he's not even close to sticking to the major pent. A couple of songs that immediately come to mind are that guitar break right in the middle of the recorded version of This is Country Music and what he's playing all through I'll Take You Back. The first one is a little more traditional country sounding Paisley and the second is more modern country Paisley, but they've both got that sound that let's you know it's him playing. Not that I have any hope of playing the stuff he plays, but what is he doing different to get that sound?
 

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
Bumping this one back to the surface as an idea for June.
 
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